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03 Sep 2015 12:14 AM
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A new news article has been posted!
The Pokémon Company International announced on the official Pokémon website that the Shiftry card from BW Next Destinies 72/99 will as of September 1st, 2015 be banned from all sanctioned Play! Pokémon tournaments that use the Expanded format. Below are the details regarding this card banning.
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As of September 1, 2015, Shiftry will be banned from all sanctioned Play! Pokémon tournaments that use the Expanded format. This card has created an undesirable play environment because it:
Shiftry's previous Evolutions, Seedot (XY—Flashfire, 5/106) and Nuzleaf (XY—Flashfire, 6/106), are Grass-type Pokémon, so it's possible to evolve to Shiftry in one turn using the Forest of Giant Plants (XY—Ancient Origins, 74/98) Stadium card. With the help of Devolution Spray (Black & White—Dragons Exalted, 113/124), Super Scoop Up (XY—Furious Fists, 100/111), and Recycle (Black & White—Emerging Powers, 96/98), players can use the Giant Fan Ability repeatedly to get rid of all of the opponent's Pokémon—and win the game in one turn.
The Giant Fan strategy works consistently enough to cause concern. Frequent first-turn wins are a sign of an unhealthy play environment, and the Shiftry deck is capable of doing that a high percentage of the time. Since Shiftry has a clearly negative effect on the Expanded format, we feel that the best option is to ban it from that environment.
Shiftry's success does rely on a series of coin flips, so it always has some chance to fail, but cards such as Shaymin-EX (XY—Roaring Skies, 77/108) and Bicycle (Black & White—Plasma Storm, 117/135) usually provide enough drawing power to overcome a bad series of coin flips. Wobbuffet (XY—Phantom Forces, 36/119) and Baltoy (XY—Ancient Origins, 32/98) can stop the deck's strategy, but only if the opponent starts the game with one of them. Even then, the Shiftry deck can get around those Pokémon by using Lysandre (XY—Ancient Origins, 78/98) or other creative tactics.
Currently the Expanded format contains over 15 Pokémon TCG expansions. As new expansions are released, powerful card combinations with older cards may arise. Therefore, we will aggressively monitor tournament results and new expansions for any unhealthy card combinations. If any cards have a negative or centralizing effect on the metagame, we will ban them to maintain a fun and healthy play environment.
Source: http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/shiftry-banned-from-expanded-format/
The Pokémon Company International announced on the official Pokémon website that the Shiftry card from BW Next Destinies 72/99 will as of September 1st, 2015 be banned from all sanctioned Play! Pokémon tournaments that use the Expanded format. Below are the details regarding this card banning.
Shiftry Banned from Expanded Format
Shiftry (Black & White—Next Destinies, 72/99) is being removed from the Pokémon TCG Expanded format.As of September 1, 2015, Shiftry will be banned from all sanctioned Play! Pokémon tournaments that use the Expanded format. This card has created an undesirable play environment because it:
- Creates a strategy that frequently wins on the first turn of the game
- Creates a non-interactive play environment where the opponent has little impact on the outcome of the match
Shiftry's previous Evolutions, Seedot (XY—Flashfire, 5/106) and Nuzleaf (XY—Flashfire, 6/106), are Grass-type Pokémon, so it's possible to evolve to Shiftry in one turn using the Forest of Giant Plants (XY—Ancient Origins, 74/98) Stadium card. With the help of Devolution Spray (Black & White—Dragons Exalted, 113/124), Super Scoop Up (XY—Furious Fists, 100/111), and Recycle (Black & White—Emerging Powers, 96/98), players can use the Giant Fan Ability repeatedly to get rid of all of the opponent's Pokémon—and win the game in one turn.
The Giant Fan strategy works consistently enough to cause concern. Frequent first-turn wins are a sign of an unhealthy play environment, and the Shiftry deck is capable of doing that a high percentage of the time. Since Shiftry has a clearly negative effect on the Expanded format, we feel that the best option is to ban it from that environment.
Shiftry's success does rely on a series of coin flips, so it always has some chance to fail, but cards such as Shaymin-EX (XY—Roaring Skies, 77/108) and Bicycle (Black & White—Plasma Storm, 117/135) usually provide enough drawing power to overcome a bad series of coin flips. Wobbuffet (XY—Phantom Forces, 36/119) and Baltoy (XY—Ancient Origins, 32/98) can stop the deck's strategy, but only if the opponent starts the game with one of them. Even then, the Shiftry deck can get around those Pokémon by using Lysandre (XY—Ancient Origins, 78/98) or other creative tactics.
Currently the Expanded format contains over 15 Pokémon TCG expansions. As new expansions are released, powerful card combinations with older cards may arise. Therefore, we will aggressively monitor tournament results and new expansions for any unhealthy card combinations. If any cards have a negative or centralizing effect on the metagame, we will ban them to maintain a fun and healthy play environment.
Source: http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/shiftry-banned-from-expanded-format/
